Shoe



Jan. 3,1950

G. H. MAVRAKlS SHOE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1947.

Inventor A tlomeys Jan. 3, 1950 ,7. H. MAVRAKIS SHOE Filed June 6, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor .w M W M W A rim-my:

Patented Jan. 3, i950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE invention relates broadly to wearing apamd more particularly to a detachable and rcversioie upper for ladies" shoes.

iihe primary object or the present "invention is to'tproviiie a shoe wherein the upper :and bottom mom of the shoe are quickly and readily separable so that thenpper may be reversed (turned inside put) or substituted by another "upper of .ttififlent acolor or material.

Another important object of present invention to provide a :shoe including a plurality reversible uppers of various colors that are seiectively engaged with the bottom or sole whereby theshoe may ice used to conform to 'the costumes-or the color of the costumes of thewearer.

A stiii further aim of the present invention is to provide a structure of the character heretofore described which simple and practical in construction, strong and reliable in use, nea't and atinactive in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, whichwill eflect acon'siderable savinzssin ladies footwear and which is otherwise weiirad-apted for the :purposes for which the same is intended.

Qther objects and advantages reside in'the detime of construction :and operation as more Tully hereinafter described and claimed, reference behad to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure-lifts :a perspective view of a right shoe illustrating the invention; p

Figure 2 is a top-plan'vi'ewof the bottom portion or-shoe sole and with the innersolewof a left shoe removed therefrom;

Figure 3 is a flattened plan viewofsthe shoe upper constituting'the invention and shown detached from the sole; 1 Figured is a transverse verticalisection'al view taken substantially on the plane bf section line L4 of Figure 1; and

Eigure *5 is a perspective "view of the case in which a plurality of folded uppers are conveniently kept, and with parts of the case broken away and shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration the numeral Ill represents the bottom portion or sole of a shoe generally comprising an outer sole I2, a heel I4,

an inner sole l6 extending the full length of the shoe, and a pair of auxiliary inner paddings l8 and I9 interposed between the forward portion of the inner sole and the outer sole and constituting a platform. This type sole and heel, previously described, is conventional and constitutes no part .2 e of the invention, hereinafter to be described'san'd capable of use with other style soles and heels.

Suitably securedby stitchings, glue or the like between the inner paddings l8 and 19 is one 'portion of a flexible supporting tape 20 on which is carried one-half or matingsection '22 of a :conventional slide fastener having a slide 2iiimounted thereon.

Said mating section extends :from adjacent the shank on one side of the sole around the toe :and rearwardly to a similar point on the other side of the sale.

The numeral 28 represents the upper portion of the shoe generally, comprising a substantially ll-shaped body formed of two correspondingly shaped plies 29 and 30, which are stitched or otherwise secured together at their edges and which are of distinct color and/or flexible material such as leather, cloth or the like, and which with the slide fastener constitutes the invention.

The outer marginaledges of these materials 29, 30 are tapered at their rear portions or adjacent their-ends toward the inner marginal edges thereof, as seenat 32, to provide extensions of reduced widths forming straps 34 and 36. The strap 34 has a plurality of spaced openings 38 that are seiectivelyengaged by the pivotal :arm wot a buckle t? carried by the free end of the. other strap 36 ior'adgustment of the straps 34 and 36 about a user's heel. v

The forward portion of the upper 28 is notched or cutout, as at M,'-to provide an :air space or toe opening. 1

- Secured by stitching or the like about the for ward and outer marginal edges of the materials 28 and 30 and extending to the tapered portions flfiis a supporting tape 45 supporting the cornplemental mating section -or'portion 48 of the slide fastener'engageable with fastener section '22 Joy operation :of slide 24.

In practical use of the inven'tion, a plurality o reversible uppers -28 are provided of various colnrs, materials and designs on each face thereof, and extra uppers 28 may "be neatly folded and carried in a case 52 of preferably leather material. The open end of this case is conveniently opened or closed by a slide fastener and slide 54, so that the case may be opened for accessibility to the auxiliary uppers for selectively engaging the same with the pair of shoe soles or bottoms I. These uppers are so designed as to fit either the sole I0 for the left foot or the right foot. Accordingly, the slide fastener section 48 of each upper 28 will engage the fastener section 22 of the right sole III with one side of the upper outermost and the fastener section 22 of the left sole H! with the other side of the upper outermost.

Accordingly, it will be apparent that any number of pairs of uppers 28 may be utilized with a single pair of shoe soles l thus enabling the wearer to be provided with shoes which match in color and texture with a dress, suit or other garment being worn, without the necessitating of purchasing a separate pair of shoes for each ensemble. Likewise, it will be readily apparent that the extra uppers 28 may be conveniently carried so that for the purpose of travelling, or at other times where a change of wearing apparel is to be made away from home, it will be unnecessary to carry extra pair or pairs of shoes. Likewise, each pair of uppers 28 by being of different colors and/or materials on different sides thereof are ca pable of use with two distinct ensembles. The mating sections of the slide fastener secured to the shoe soles l0 and uppers 28 are engaged and disengaged by the slide 24 in a conventional manner for completely detaching or for attaching the uppers on both the inner and outer sides of the soles and uppers from the toe to adjacent the shank or inner side of the heel, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Likewise, the slide fastener mating sections and the slide 24 may be made ornamental to enhance the appearance of the upper 28 being worn, as by being of a gold or silver color to blend attractively with the different colored uppers and to replace ornamental studs or similar items conventionally, applied to ladies shoes.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 7

1. A pair of shoes comprising a pair of shoe soles, a pair of shoe uppers, and fastening means for detachably connecting each shoe upper-to one of the shoe soles from a point adjacent the'heel, on one side of the sole, around the toe and to a corresponding position on the other side of the sole, for disposition thereabove, said shoe uppers having opposite finished faces of different colors and/ or materials, said fastening means being constructed and arranged to permit each upper to be connected to one shoe sole with one finished face of the upper externally disposed and to the other sole with its other finished face disposed externally, said fastening means comprising pairs of slide fasteners having complementary sections fixed to the shoe soles and complementary sections fixed to the shoe uppers and extending around the toes and rearwardly on both sides of the shoe soles and uppers to adjacent the shoe shanks, and a slide carried by the mating fastener section of each shoe sole and detachably connected to the fastener section of either shoe upper for detachably and reversibly connecting the shoe uppers to the shoe soles.

, face of the upper externally disposed and to the other sole with its other finished face disposed externally, said fastening means comprising pairs of slide fasteners having complementary sections connected to the shoe soles and complementary sections connected to the shoe uppers, said slide fasteners extending around the toes of the shoe soles and uppers and rearwardly on both sides to points adjacent the heels, and a slide carried by the mating section of each shoe sole forde'tachably engaging either slide fastener section of the shoe uppers for reversibly mounting the shoe uppers on the shoe soles, each shoe upper being provided with a cut-out toe portion combining with a portion of the fastener sectionconnected there to to form a toe openingtherein.

3. In combination with a pair of shoe soles, a pair of shoe uppers having opposite finished faces of different colors and/or materials, and slide fastener means for detachably and reversibly connecting the shoe uppers to the shoe soles and including complementary slide fastener sections connected to the shoe soles and complementary fastener sections connected to the shoe uppers, a slide nondetachably carried by each fastener section of the shoe soles for detachably engaging the slide fastener section of either shoe upper for mounting the shoe uppers on the shoe soles with either finished face of the shoe uppers outermost.

4. Ashoe comprising a sole having slide fastener means on its upper surface, the slide member of the slide fastener means being permanently carried by the sole member, an upper having a cooperating slide means on its lower surface for engagement with the slide means on the sole, and said upper being finished on both sides thereofwhereby the upper may be reversed for use vigitiedthe matching sole with which it is assoc a GUS H. MAVRAKIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

STATES PATENTS 

